Křivoklát Castle () is a castle in

Křivoklát Křivoklát () is a market town in Rakovník District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 700 inhabitants. It is known for the medieval Křivoklát Castle, protected as national cultural monument. Administrative div ...

in the

Central Bohemian Region The Central Bohemian Region ( ; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in the Czech capital Prague, which lies in the centre of the regio ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. It is protected as a national cultural monument.

History

Křivoklát was founded in the 12th century, belonging to the kings of Bohemia. During the reign of Otakar II of Bohemia a large, monumental royal castle was built, later rebuilt by King

Wenceslaus IV Wenceslaus IV (also ''Wenceslas''; ; , nicknamed "the Idle"; 26 February 136116 August 1419), also known as Wenceslaus of Luxembourg, was King of Bohemia from 1378 until his death and King of Germany from 1376 until he was deposed in 1400. As he ...

and later enlarged by King Vladislaus II. The castle was damaged by fire several times. It was turned into a harsh prison and the building slowly deteriorated. During the 19th century, the Fürstenberg family became the owners of the castle and had it reconstructed after a fire in 1826. The Fürstenberg family owned the castle until 1929. Today the castle serves as a museum, tourist destination and place for theatrical exhibitions. Collections of hunting weapons, Gothic paintings and books are stored there.

Gallery

Wenceslas Hollar - Bohemian views 11 (cropped).jpg, Křivoklát on an engraving by

Wenceslaus Hollar Wenceslaus Hollar (23 July 1607 – 25 March 1677) was a prolific and accomplished Bohemian graphic artist of the 17th century, who spent much of his life in England. He is known to German speakers as ; and to Czech speakers as (). He is partic ...

from the 17th century Antonin Mánes - hrad Křivoklát (1835) obr01 crop.png, Křivoklát on a watercolor by Antonín Mánes from 1835 Krivoklat 1958 01.jpg, Krivoklat around 1958 when its main tower was reconstructed KrivoklatKaple.jpg, Altar in the Chapel of the Coronation of the Virgin Mary from the 1490s Hrad Křivoklát 33.jpg, Lower courtyard Hrad Křivoklát (Křivoklát) (7).jpg, Upper courtyard Křivoklát, hrad z vyhlídky.jpg, View from the east

Notable prisoners

* Burkhard von Berlichingen * Edward Kelley * Hieronymus Makowsky

External links

*
Křivoklát
on zamky-hrady.cz
Křivoklát
on the official Prague tourist portal {{DEFAULTSORT:Krivoklat Castle Royal residences in the Czech Republic Rakovník District Museums in the Central Bohemian Region Historic house museums in the Czech Republic National cultural monuments of the Czech Republic Castles in the Central Bohemian Region Fürstenberg family residences